24 April, 2019, Taipei, TAIWAN --( ASIA TODAY )-- 2019 Creative Expo Taiwan opens today at Huashan 1914 Creative Park, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Taipei Expo Park - Expo Dome, Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-Lab), and TRW Railway Museum. The theme is Culture On the Move and it coincides with the announcement of a new cultural corridor, which traces the old Civic Boulevard railroad. The Ministry of Culture designates the Railway Ministry Park as the starting point and Taipei Music Center as the ending point of the new cultural corridor, both of which will also hold events during the expo with the aim of communicating a new vision for Taiwanese culture. This year’s expo is bigger than ever, featuring more than 570 exhibitors from 25 countries or regions, and welcoming an estimated 350 thousand visitors.

Today, the Ministry of Culture hosted the opening ceremony at Huashan 1914 Creative Park, which was attended by Premier SU Tseng-chang, Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun, General Consultant Wei-Hsiung Chan, U-Theatre Artistic Director Liu Rou-Yu, and General Curator Tammy Chen-Jung Liu. Such a high profile guest list demonstrates the importance of 2019 Creative Expo Taiwan. During her opening ceremony address, Minister of Culture Chen Li-chiun praised the annual Creative Expo Taiwan as the most important stage for Taiwanese cultural and creative professionals. This year, young designers were invited to curate and interpret Taiwanese culture from their contemporary perspective, and synthesize their findings into a national brand for Taiwan. Together with the design and licensing trade show, this exposition of brand Taiwan will be seen by the world.

The opening ceremony presented Taiwanese ritual performance as its main concept, headlined by U-Theatre and LuxuryLogico’s palanquin procession. Co-founder of LuxuryLogico, Lin Kun-ying reimagined the traditional palanquin as an esoteric beacon of Taiwanese modernity, featuring inbuilt lights and other innovative technologies. Like an immersive theatre experience, the opening ceremony guests entered to an ensemble of performances from U-Theatre Artistic Director Liu Rou-Yu, alongside both the original and current U-Theatre performance troupes. Then, as the esoteric palanquin procession marched onto center stage, each of the four U-Theatre troupes gave a series of short performances, followed by the drum roll of U-Theatre’s percussion troupe. This year’s expo ambassador, Mickey Huang interviewed Liu Rou-Yu and General Curator Tammy Chen-Jung Liu after the performances, discussing the full breadth of U-Theatre’s thirty year history, and how the performances symbolized 2019 Creative Expo Taiwan’s mission of connecting traditions with contemporary culture and creativity. Finally, together on stage Premier SU Tseng-chang and Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun switched on the palanquin’s lights to signal the beginning of Creative Expo Taiwan.

Starting from today, the five venues of 2019 Creative Expo Taiwan open with 21 exhibition spaces, 300 events, more than 570 international and domestic brands, over 200 performing artists. The performers at Huashan 1914 Creative Park include Taiwanese national treasures Chen Hsi-Huang and Yang Show King, rock band Sorry Youth, as well as aboriginal artists Ilid Kaolo and Suming. Curated spaces at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park include “Dainippon-ichi Taiwan EXPO” by three hundred year old Japanese home gifts store Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten, which introduces traditional crafts from Taiwan and Japan. Another curated space at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, “Hi Story Past and Future” narrates a timeline of Taiwanese history, told by five national museums. The licensing expo at Taipei Expo Park - Expo Dome features the TALENT 100 MOVES Creative Arena, exhibiting work from emerging artists in an interactive AR gallery entitled “Black and Blue Cosmos”

About Creative Expo Taiwan
Since 2010, the annual Creative Expo Taiwan has showcased the best of Taiwan’s culture and creativity. This year’s Creative Expo Taiwan marks the unveiling of a new cultural corridor in Taipei. The main events will take place at five locations along the corridor — Huashan 1914 Creative Park, C-Lab, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Taipei Expo Park - Expo Dome, and TRW Railway Museum.